1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the secure storage and easy retrieval of objects of various vertical dimensions in an enclosed storage cylinder.
Storage machines that use rotating storage cylinders are well known (e.g. sandwich machines). In such machines the storage cylinder has a group of storage areas that run vertically along one segment of the cylinder. The cylinder rotates until the desired segment faces the access opening. The access opening is blocked by a vertical stack of doors, where the doors are usually of uniform height. One of the doors opens to provide access to a stored item.
Most of these storage machines have the storage areas configured at the factory. The mix of sizes of storage areas is determined when the machine is ordered. This requires a careful analysis of storage needs before the machine is configured. A better system would allow the configuration of storage areas using readily available tools after receiving the machine. The best system would allow reconfiguration without tools.
What sets this invention apart from the prior art is:                1. Both the rectangular-shaped and the triangular-shaped storage areas of the storage cylinder have drawer style shelves that require radial motion for removal and installation.        2. Drawer-style shelves, combined with a properly designed enclosure, prohibit shelf repositioning during normal operation but provide access to the shelves for their easy removal and repositioning during maintenance and restocking.        3. This invention provides variable vertical spacing between shelves. This attribute is especially useful when adding new items of different heights to the storage cylinder.        4. Since many stored objects are rectangular in shape and do not fit well into the pie-slice partitions of a typical storage cylinder, this invention uses H-shaped partitioning, eliminating the unused portion of the pie-slice and increasing storage efficiency for rectangular objects.        5. This invention allows for various partitioning arrangements to meet a variety of storage requirements.        6. All partitions share common walls to provide efficient use of partitioning material.        7. An enclosure, which surrounds the storage cylinder, ensures the secure storage of stored objects.        
2. Prior Art
Other inventors have created storage cylinders with rectangular shelving, but none has incorporated all of the benefits of this invention.
Only Peckenpaugh (U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,826: April 1974) and Stromgren (U.S. Pat. No. 827,761: August 1906) provide secure storage for stored objects.
Rosenthal (U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,124: May 1981) does not provide rectangular storage or partitioning. Further, he does not make full use of the center area around the axis of rotation.
Barrows (U.S. Pat. No. 383,551: May 1888), Porter (U.S. Pat. No. 2,158,085: May 1939), Axhamre (U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,950: February 1972), Potter (U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,549: July 1990), and Bliek (U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,528: September 1998) have shelves with adjustable heights in a cylindrical cylinder but do not provide rectangular storage areas.
Stromgren (U.S. Pat. No. 827,761: August 1906), Schauer (U.S. Pat. No. 2,663,608: December 1953), Brownlee (U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,311: December 1980) and Caldwell (U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,332: July 2002, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,865: July 2003) provide rectangular storage drawers but do not allow the user to adjust the shelf height.
Rosenthal (U.S. Pat. No. 1,763,724: June 1930) and Handler (U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,366: November 1978) have rectangular adjustable-height shelves within a cylindrical space but omit partitioning the storage areas. Further, they do not use the center area around the axis of rotation, resulting in an inefficient use of space.
Radek (U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,159: May 1976) has adjustable vertical shelving but without rectangular storage areas. In addition, he wastes storage area around the axis of rotation.
Peckenpaugh (U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,826: April 1974) has adjustable vertical shelving and parallel sides for rectangular storage areas, but he wastes much of the space between his shelving and the rectangular-section within which his shelving is inscribed. In addition, shelving in the corners of his invention are not usable for rectangular objects, and his triangular shelving does not have parallel sides.
Clausen (U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,920: August 1994) provides rectangular storage drawers and uses a large part of the central circular area for storage. However, one can not adjust the shelf height. His corner storage areas are triangularly shaped and do not have parallel sides.
Carroll (U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,011: December 1997) has adjustable rectangular shelving but his invention wastes much available space between the storage shelves and the circular area within which it is inscribed.
Table 1 contrasts the prior art with this invention.
TABLE 1Comparing the Prior Art to This Invention.AttributesRadial MotionSpace EfficientRequired for RemovalSecureEfficient forHasFully UsesUse of Name, Dateand Insertion Access torectangularAdjustableInscribedPartitioningPatent No.of ShelvingStored ObjectsobjectsShelvingStorage AreaMaterialClausen, M: (This Invention)XXXXXXAxhamre, F. L.: Feb. 15, 1972XXXNo. 3,641,950Barrows, A.: May 29, 1888XXXNo. 383,551Bliek, K.: Sep. 29, 1998XXNo. 5,813,528Brownlee, S. S.: Dec. 16, 1980XNo. 4,239,311Caldwell, R. C. Jr.: Jul. 16, 2002XNo. 6,419,332Caldwell, R. C., Jr.: Jul. 8, 2003XNo. 6,588,865 B2Carroll, F. A.: Dec. 30, 1997XXXNo. 5,702,011Clausen, M. K.: Aug. 16, 1994XXNo. 5,337,920Handler, M. E.: Nov. 21, 1978XXNo. 4,126,366Peckenpaugh, T. L.: Feb. 20, 1972XXXXNo. 3,807,826Porter, S. B. C.: Jun. 25, 1935XXXXNo. 2,158,085Potter, F.: Jul. 3, 1990XXXXNo. 4,938,549Radek, J. R.: May 18, 1976XXNo. 3,957,159Rosenthal, A. H.: Jun. 17, 1930XXNo. 1,763,724Rosenthal, Stanley H.: May 26, 1981XXNo. 4,269,124Schauer, W. E.: Dec. 22, 1953XXNo. 2,663,608Stromgren, G. A.: Aug. 7, 1906XXXNo. 827,761